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By Root 545 0

her very weak, and Dr Haydock had said very firmly that she must not go on sleeping alone in the house with only someone coming in daily, but — She stopped there. Because it was no use going on with the thought which was ‘If only it could have been someone other than Miss Knight.’ But there wasn’t much choice for elderly ladies nowadays. Devoted maidservants had gone out of fashion. In real illness you could have a proper hospital nurse, at vast expense and procured with difficulty, or you could go to hospital. But after the critical phase of illness had passed, you were down to the Miss Knights.

There wasn’t, Miss Marple reflected, anything wrong about the Miss Knights other than the fact that they were madly irritating. They were full of kindness, ready to feel affection towards their charges, to humour them, to be bright and cheerful with them and in general to treat them as slightly mentally afflicted children.

‘But I,’ said Miss Marple to herself, ‘although I may be old, am not a mentally retarded child.’

At this moment, breathing rather heavily, as was her custom, Miss Knight bounced brightly into the room. She was a big, rather flabby woman of fifty-six with yellowing grey hair very elaborately arranged, glasses, a long thin nose, and below it a good-natured mouth and a weak chin.

‘Here we are!’ she exclaimed with a kind of beaming boisterousness, meant to cheer and enliven the sad twilight of the aged. ‘I hope we’ve had our little snooze?’

‘I have been knitting,’ Miss Marple replied, putting some emphasis on the pronoun, ‘and,’ she went on, confessing her weakness with distaste and shame, ‘I’ve dropped a stitch.’

‘Oh dear, dear,’ said Miss Knight. ‘Well, we’ll soon put that right, won’t we?’

‘You will,’ said Miss Marple. ‘I, alas, am unable to do so.’

The slight acerbity of her tone passed quite unnoticed. Miss Knight, as always, was eager to help.

‘There,’ she said after a few moments. ‘There you are, dear. Quite all right now.’

Though Miss Marple was perfectly agreeable to be called ‘dear’ (and even ‘ducks’) by the woman at the greengrocer or the girl at the paper shop, it annoyed her intensely to be called ‘dear’ by Miss Knight. Another of those things that elderly ladies have to bear. She thanked Miss Knight politely.

‘And now I’m just going out for my wee toddle,’ said Miss Knight humorously. ‘Shan’t be long.’

‘Please don’t dream of hurrying back,’ said Miss Marple politely and sincerely.

‘Well, I don’t like to leave you too long on your own, dear, in case you get moped.’

‘I assure you I am quite happy,’ said Miss Marple. ‘I probably shall have’ (she closed her eyes) ‘a little nap.’

‘That’s right, dear. Anything I can get you?’

Miss Marple opened her eyes and considered.

‘You might go into Longdon’s and see if the curtains are ready. And perhaps another skein of the blue wool from Mrs Wisley. And a box of blackcurrant lozenges at the chemist’s. And change my book at the library — but don’t let them give you anything that isn’t on my list. This last one was too terrible. I couldn’t read it.’ She held out The Spring Awakens.

‘Oh dear dear! Didn’t you like it? I thought you’d love it. Such a pretty story.’

‘And if it isn’t too far for you, perhaps you wouldn’t mind going as far as Halletts and see if they have one of those up-and-down egg whisks — not the turn-the-handle kind.’

(She knew very well they had nothing of the kind, but Halletts was the farthest shop possible.)

‘If all this isn’t too much —’ she murmured.

But Miss Knight replied with obvious sincerity.

‘Not at all. I shall be delighted.’

Miss Knight loved shopping. It was the breath of life to her. One met acquaintances, and had the chance of a chat, one gossiped with the assistants, and had the opportunity of examining various articles in the various shops. And one could spend quite a long time engaged in these pleasant occupations without any guilty feeling that it was one’s duty to hurry back.

So Miss Knight started off happily, after a last glance at the frail old lady resting so peacefully by the window.

After waiting a